5 Reasons to Start Watching the Colorado Avalanche Tonight

I must admit that I haven't watched a whole lot of hockey this season, and no excuses will be good enough to not be called a fair weather fan. But starting tonight, I will be watching the Colorado Avalanche as they begin their quest for the Stanley Cup. Here are a few reasons you should be watching too.

The Broncos are in the middle of their off-season, the Nuggets sucked and missed the NBA Playoffs, and the Rockies look like they are destined to spend October shopping for Halloween costumes instead of playing in the playoffs. So, really the only major Colorado sports team that is worth watching is the Avs.

Patrick Roy is a ticking time-bomb and he makes the games more fun to watch. The Avs coach really does have hockey in his blood, and he isn't afraid to show it. Remember his first game on the Colorado bench this season? Now that it's playoff time, expect the intensity to be ratcheted up a couple notches.

Rookie Nathan MacKinnon has already broke one of Gretzky's records and is becoming a superstar before our very eyes. Look for him to step up in the spotlight and make a name for himself among the NHL's elite.

If there’s one team capable of pulling off a huge upset, it’s the Avs. These guys are your prototypical underdogs, and if they happen to run into the defending champs, Chicago, they’ll have a good chance of beating them, as they’ve gone 4-0-1 against the Hawks this season!

Beards. Almost every single hockey player will go without shaving until their team is eliminated from the playoffs, but it should be extra fun to watch how bad the Avs look with their hairy faces as they are all so young.

The Avs kick off the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a match-up against the Minnesota Wild at 7:30 tonight (April 17) at Pepsi Center.